Beef & Beer Risotto

Cooking with beer makes me feel a bit like a rebel. There’s something about adding alcohol to a pot of risotto that seems so wrong but also so right. And when you taste the risotto, you will know it’s the right decision

I love cooking with beer- change the beer and the whole flavoring of the dish changes. I prefer cooking with darker beers instead of lighter ones– the darker ones have fuller body and flavor. When we go to Costco, there are always awesome microbrew samplers, and it’s fun to try new beers in my recipes and to drink while cooking

Do you cook with beer? What’s your favorite kind?

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 12oz beer (I used Wise Cracker Wit)

2 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth

1 cup arborio rice

1 tbs unsalted butter

1 lb lean ground beef

4 oz shredded swiss cheese

4 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

1 cup portobello mushrooms, sliced

Salt, pepper

Servings: 4

Difficulty: easy

Directions

In a medium to large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and beef. Break apart and brown sausage.

Once the ground beef is cooked, add the rice and mushrooms and stir until the rice is toasted, about 4 minutes.

Add a third of the beer to the toasted rice, cook until liquid is absorbed, then continue to add beer two more times until the bottle is empty. Then add the broth is 1/2 cup increments. Wait until the liquid is absorbed before adding additional liquid to the pan.

Cook until the rice is tender and creamy. Stir in the butter, cheese, and spinach until well mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!